Same flight, different logbook: Why a private jet crew's experience looks bigger on paper in the US than in Europe
Imagine for a moment two first officers who just finished identical careers. Exact same aircraft. Exact same number of years. Exact same routes.
One trained and flew under the Federal Aviation Administration and the other under the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. When they both apply for their next job, one logbook shows 1,500 hours of pilot-in-command (PIC) time but the other shows 0.
That’s not an error. Neither logbook is wrong and nothing about their flying experience is actually different.
Charter broker screening, insurance underwriting, Argus and Wyvern audits, and international standards qualification reviews all make reference to a PIC number, but what it actually means for the pilot depends on which regulator produced it.
Paramount Business Jets has put together a comprehensive guide leveraging regulations in the U.S. and the European Union, information from the FAA, and industry resources to show what PIC actually means when looking at two logbooks side by side.
One flight, two logbooks
The easiest way to understand how there can be differences in what PIC numbers mean is to look at a real-world example.
Picture a two-pilot business jet that has a captain and first officer. They are flying a 1.5-hour charter leg. The captain is the designated commander for the flight under both regulatory regimes. Nothing changes there. What is different, however, is who else in the cockpit gets to log the time as PIC.
There is one structural difference between the FAA and EASA that determines this. The FAA defines PIC by what a pilot's hands are doing, and the EASA determines it based on who holds command authority.
How the FAA crew logs the leg
In this imaginary leg, say the first officer hand-flies it as part of a normal rotation of duties in two-pilot operations. Under 14 CFR 61.51(e)(1)(i), a pilot can log PIC time when they are the sole manipulator of the aircraft controls for which they are rated. It doesn’t matter who is “in charge” of the flight.
The captain will separately log the same leg as PIC under 61.51(e)(1)(iii), which covers acting as PIC of an aircraft that requires more than one pilot by type certification or operating rule. It’s two different provisions and two different justifications for a single flight. Both pilots log 1.5 hours of PIC.
This course of action is completely allowed. The Chief Counsel of the FAA has confirmed as much. In this scenario, there would be three hours of PIC logged between both pilots against 1.5 hours of actual flight time.
How the EASA crew logs the same leg
The EASA works a little differently. There is no general sole-manipulator concept. As outlined by Regulation (EU) No 965/2012, the term “pilot-in-command” explicitly means the pilot who is designated as being in charge of the safe conduct of the flight. Further, CAT.GEN.MPA.105 attaches the responsibility to only a single person during the whole flight.
So, what does this mean? On the same 1.5-hour flight, the first officer, even though they hand-flew the exact same leg, logs 1.5 hours as co-pilot time. The only exception is if the operator is running a formal pilot-in-command program under supervision.
Most charter and fractional operations where a pilot is available and ready to intervene don’t run such a program, meaning 1.5 hours of PIC are listed across both logbooks.
FAA framework: Sole‑manipulator PIC logging
The FAA’s approach traces back to a design choice they outline in the broader 14 CFR 61.51. They choose to separate the question of who is legally responsible for the flight from the question of what a pilot may write in their logbook. A rated pilot who is the sole manipulator of the controls can log PIC, even if there is someone else on the flight with deck authority.
An additional interpretation from the Chief Counsel on autopilot use explains the argument from another angle. Logging PIC hinges on being the one to manipulate the controls. Autopilot engagement can interrupt this status, independent of who is legally in charge of the plane.
What this creates is a routine practice of dual-logging in many multi-pilot FAA operations. A captain will log their PIC under the acting-PIC provision for the whole flight. The first officer will also log PIC for whatever portion they were hand-flying under the sole-manipulator provision. Both are correct, and nobody is overstating their record.
For business aviation logbooks, though, the practical result is that FAA-trained first officers accumulate a significant amount of PIC time before they’ve ever been the true captain.
EASA framework: PIC, PICUS, and SPIC as PIC
Under EASA’s Part-FCI structure, PIC is logged differently. PIC status is attached to the designated commander. A first officer hand-flying gets co-pilot time, but not PIC.
The exceptions are narrow and specific. There is student pilot-in-command time for pre-license students flying solo-equivalent legs under supervision and the Pilot in Command Under Supervision time for licensed first officers flying under supervision. The arrangement must be approved by the competent authority where intervention on behalf of a commander isn’t required for safety.
From a career progression standpoint, PICUS hours matter more. This is because up to 500 of the 1,500 PIC hours required for an unrestricted airline transport pilot license can come from PICUS time. This is credited under FCL.510(a)(2). That being said, the 500-hour ceiling is a credit towards a specific license milestone. It’s not an open parallel to the FAA’s sole-manipulator logging standard.
A European first officer who spends their years flying business jet legs outside a formal PICUS program will need to log those hours as co-pilot time. This may make their total PIC figure sit near zero at a point where, well into their career, an FAA counterpart looks far more senior even if they are equal.
Comparing PIC totals: Hours as a unit of account
The gap really emerges when the math is expanded over a full first officer’s tenure. Imagine a pilot who flies 3,000 hours over a five-year period as a first officer, with half the time spent hand-flying in two-pilot business jet operations.
Under the FAA’s sole manipulator rule, that pilot will log 1,500 hours of PIC time. Under the EASA, that same pilot would produce close to 0 PIC time unless they were operating under a PICUS program.
Flight time, experience type, and competence are all equal. Yet the PIC column tells a different story.
This is why the two numbers shouldn’t be used interchangeably in the same formula. A PIC total under the FAA is a reflection of both command experience and hand-flying experience blended into a single number. A PIC total under the EASA reflects just command experience in most cases. These numbers are measuring different things in accordance with specific regulatory requirements.
Operational impacts for U.S. charter and Part 135
The difference between the two systems gets even more confounding when one considers that mixed-nationality crews are very common in business aviation. When operators are running both FAA and EASA licensed pilots, they need to build reconciliation practices around the gap.
In some cases, the workaround is requesting supplemental documentation rather than flight time broken out by role. An example could be to include operator letters confirming line experience.
However, the friction shows most notably when a European first officer applies to a U.S. Part 135 operator. In many cases, their EASA logbook shows a fraction of what an FAA-trained counterpart may show, but it’s just a matter of who issued their license. An operator screening applications by just PIC minimums may pass up a perfectly excellent pilot without even knowing it.
Get yourself a European pilot and it becomes clear that their experience needs to be translated for an underwriter or auditor who is reading the numbers as if they came from an FAA logbook.
How U.S. clients and brokers should read hours
The practical takeaway from all of this is to treat PIC as a supplemental unit of account rather than a direct measure of experience. Always ask which regulatory regime produced and stamped off on a logbook before comparing two pilots.
A short checklist can help:
1. Ask which authority issued the license and which hours were logged.
2. Ask for total flight time and type-specific time alongside the PIC number.
3. Ask specifically whether any PIC time came through a PICUS program for European pilots.
4. Remember that published PIC minimums assume FAA style logging and that a European crew roster will require supplemental verification of experience.
Q&A section: Dual‑licensed pilots, two logbooks, and practical choices
What about pilots who hold both an FAA certification and an EASA license?
Generally speaking, the best rule of thumb is to follow the certificate privileges rather than the nationality of the pilot. A dual-licensed captain flying a U.S. registered aircraft under FAA authority logs that flight under 61.51, but flying an EASA-registered aircraft would be logged under Part-FCL and AMC1 FCL.050. The aircraft’s state of registry and operating rules in force should decide which logbook convention applies to the flight.
Should pilots maintain two logbooks?
For anyone who holds a certification from both regulators, the answer is yes. It’s also close to unavoidable in practice. A single logbook built to satisfy the FAA won’t meet EASA’s requirements and vice versa. Most dual-licensed pilots already have dual records.
How can U.S. operators ask for clarity without putting an applicant on the spot?
Clarity is key. Ask direct questions and don’t rely solely on PIC numbers. Inquire as to the authority that issued their license. Dig into whether any PIC time came from a PICUS program. Learn what their type-specific time looks like. All of this will give an operator a comfortable picture of a pilot’s true experience.
Finding the right pilot for your needs
Remember that a pilot’s listed PIC hours aren’t a standalone measure of their competency. It’s a bookkeeping convention that differs across regulators. The FAA counts the time hands are on the controls. The EASA wants to know command authority time.
Two captains with two identical flying histories can have wildly different PIC times logged, but it doesn’t mean one is automatically more experienced than the other. The best operators dig deep and ask extra questions to determine who may be the best candidate.
[Same flight, different logbook: Why a private jet crew's experience looks bigger on paper in the US than in Europe]
Image credits: Ivan Dudka // Shutterstock
